ABSTRACT
The chapter synthesises Polish and international research on welfare attitudes and related aspects of benefit morale. Polish studies – particularly those by CBOS – show a consistently high level of public acceptance for the welfare state and limited stigma attached to claiming benefits. Most Poles view welfare use as natural, rooted in prosocial orientations emphasising solidarity and mutual support. Research also documents public awareness of welfare abuse, though tolerance levels vary by context. International data from WVS/EVS demonstrate large cross-national differences in moral judgments regarding benefit abuse, with Poland falling in the moderate range. Cultural and historical factors, including egalitarian values, economic insecurity and post-socialist legacies, are identified as important determinants of welfare attitudes. Despite numerous partial studies, the literature reveals a lack of comprehensive, integrated analyses of attitudes toward take-up, abuse and non-take-up within post-socialist societies – precisely the gap the monograph seeks to fill.
